Hsttekual-combustion engine



W. F. KOKEN.

INTERNAL COMBUSTIGN ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 12, 1915.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

Mga. gy @ma WALTER F. KOKEN, OFl ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Auf. 8, 1916.

Application led July 12, 1915. Serial No. 39,387.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER F KOKEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the folle-wing is a full, clear, and exact-description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to multi-cylinder internal combustion engines of the type in which the inlet and exhaust of the gases to and from the cylinders is controlled by slide valves that are arranged in groups, each group of which comprises a plurality7 of valves that move in unison and coperate with all of the cylinders to govern the inlet ports of certain cylinders and the exhaust ports of different cylinders.

One object of the present invention is to provide a practicable internal combustion engine of the general type mentioned, which is so designed that there is little liability of the gases leaking around the slide valves, even after the engine has been in use for a long period.

Another object is to provide a slide valve internal combustion engine that can be manufactured at a low cost and which is so designed that the valves can be removed easily. And still anotherl object is to yprovide an engine of the general type mentioned, in which the slide valves are arranged in such a manner that it is practicable to form rela'- tively large intake and exhaust gas passageways in the sides of the cylinders, thus insuring the admission of a relatively great supply of gas to the cylinders, and also insuring the'burnt gases escaping from the cylinders freely.

@ther objects and desirable features of the invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure l is a horizontal, longitudinal-sectional view of an internal combustion en- Vgine constructed in accordance with my inseats formed in valve chambers that are always in direct communication with their coperating cylinders. The pressure of the gases in the cylinders is preferably utilized to hold the valves tightly seated during the compression stroke, the power stroke and the scavenging stroke and Vthe valves are so arranged that the pressure which holds vthem seated is exerted on the entire area of each valve, thus making it practically impossible for carbon to collect on the seats or `flat surfaces on which the valves slide.

In the preferred form of my invention, as herein shown, two groups of valves are employed for controlling inlet and exhaust ports in valve chambers that communicate with the cylinders, a separate valve chamber being provided for each valve and each cylinder having two valve chambers. All of the inlet valves are arranged on one side of the engine and all of the exhaust valves are arranged on the opposite side of the engine, but the valves constituting each group are connected together in such a manner that each group comprises a plurality of inlet valves and a plurality of exhaust valves that move in unison when the engine is in-operation.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a four-cycle, four-cylinder internal .combustion engine constructed in accordance with my invention, A designates a cylinder block which is provided with four cylinders.

l, 2, 3 and 4l, and 5 .and 6, respectively, designate inlet and exhaust passageways that are formed at oppositely-disposed points in the sides of the cylinders adjacent the heads of the cylinders, the inlet passageways 5 leading to valve chambers 50 provided with ports 5c that communicate with an intake manifold B, and the exhaust passageways G leading to valve chambers provided with ports 6 that communicate with an exhaust manifold C. One group of slide valves cooperates with all of the cylinders to control the admission of the combustible gases to certain cylinders and the exhaust of the burnt gases from the remaining cylinders and another group of slide valves coperates with all of the cylinders to control the inlet and exhaust ports that are not controlled by the group of valves first referred to. The valves of both groups are of plate form and are arranged vertically on opposite sides of the cylinder block A in the valve'chambers 50 and 60 which are always inv open communication with their respective cylinders, said valves being reciprocated longitudinally of the engine and each valve having a slot or opening that lines up with the particular port in the valve chamber with which the valve cooperates, at a certain period in the cycle of operations of the engine.

The valves of one group, which are designated by the reference character D, control the exhaust of the gases from the two end cylinders 1 and t and the admission of the gases to the intermediate cylinders 2 and 3. The valves of the other group, which are designated by the reference character E, control the admission of the gases to the cylinders 1 and 4: and the exhaust of the gases from the intermediate cylinders 2 and 3, the valves D that constitute the first group being directly connected together so that they move in unison, and the valves E that constitute the second group being directly connected together so that they move in unison, independently of the valves of the first group.

In the engine herein shown the valves are so timed that the cylinders fire in the order 1, 3, 4L and 2, but, of course, it is not essential that the cylinders lire in this exact order. The inlet valves at one side of the engine are provided with slots or openings 5@ that are adapted to line up or register with the ports 5c that lead from the valve chambers 50 to the intake manifold, and the exhaust valves at the opposite side of the engine are provided with slots o-r openings 6 that are adapted to line up or register with the ports 63 that lead from the valve chambers to the exhaust manifold.

Various means may be employed vfor actuating the valves so that they will operate in proper sequence to govern the admission and exhaust of the gases to and from the cylinders, but I prefer to connect the valves D constituting the first group to a reciprocating actuating member F provided with a pair of rods 7 and 7a that extend longitudinally of the engine on opposite sides of the cylinder block and to which the valves D are rigidly connected by means of laterand 9LL pass through stationary bearings 13 that project laterally from the sides of the engine, and said rods are so positioned that the rods 7 and 7L will be arranged directly below the rods 9 and 9, as shown in Fig. 2. It is immaterial, so far as my present invention is concerned, how the members F and G are operated, but one type of mechanism that may be employed for this purpose consists of an operating shaft H provided with two eccentrically-arranged pins 11 and 12, set 90o apart, that fit in openings in slide blocks 11L andl 12a which it in guideways in the members F and G, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1. The operating shaft H may be connected with the crank shaft of the engine (not shown), and when the engine is in operation the eccentricallydisposed pins 11 and 12 on said shaft that coperate with the sliding blocks in the vyoke-shaped members F and G will cause said members to reciprocate, and thus positively movethe valves, so as to bring the slots in the valves into and out of registration with the ports in the valve seats of the valve chambers in which the valves are arranged, and thus permit the combustible gases to pass from the intake manifold into the cylinders and the burnt gases to escape from the cylinders into the exhaust manifold.

In order to simplify the construction and produce an engine that can be manufactured at a low cost, I have arranged the valves in two valve seat members I and J that are detachably connected to the cylinder block A by bolts 14, or in any other suitable manner. Each of said valve seat members consists of a casting that extends longitudinally along one side of the cylinder block A and which is provided with a Hat valve seat and with means for guiding the valves that are mounted in the valve chambers 50 and 60. The intake manifold B is formed in the valve seat member I and the exhaust manifold C is formed in the valve seat member J, and said members are provided on their inner sides with flat valve seats 5b and 6b, respectively, on which the inlet and exhaust .valves slide. The opposite sides of the cylinder block A are planed off, and the inside faces of the members I and J that bear against the cylinder block are Valso planed off so that gaskets 15 can be arranged between the cylinder block and the valve seat members I and J to form gas-tight joints. The valve seat member I that houses the inlet valves is provided with four pairs of short, horizontally-disposed ribs or flanges 16 that form guideways for the inlet valves, said ribs or anges projecting inwardly into the valve chambers 50 which are formed by cored out openings in the side of the cylinder block A, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The valve seat member J that incases the exhaust valves is formed in a similar manner. Between the recesses or cored out openings in the side faces of the cylinder block A are vertically-disposed webs 18, against which the valve seat members I and J bear tightly, thus forming a separate valve chamber for each valve of the engine, the top and bottom walls of said valve chamber constituting a guideway for the valve and the outer vertical side wall of said chamber constituting a valve seat, against which the valve is pressed tightly by the internal pressure in the cylinder with which the valve coperates. The valves are so designed that the inner sides of same are spaced far enough away from the inner sides of the valve chambers to insure communication at all times between the cylinders and their coperating valve chambers, thereby causing each valve -to be held tightly on its seat by pressure that is exerted against the entire inner face of the valve. The arms S and l() on the valves that connect the valves to the valve-operat-- ing rods project laterally through horizontally-disposed, elongated slots that are formed in the valve seat portions of the members I and J, as shown in Fig. 2, said slots being located far enough above the lower edges of the valves so that the valves will always extend over said slots sufficiently to prevent the gases from escaping through said slots. The cylinder block and the valve seat members I and J are provided with cored out openings a2, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to form spaces through which a cooling medium can circulate, the water circulating spaces a; in the valve seat members being so formed that the portions of said members which act as seats for the valves will be cooled by the circulating water of the cooling system.

The inlet and exhaust gas passageways in the cylinders are of novel form and are of such design that they can be made relatively large without interfering with the compression space in the cylinders. As shown in Fig. 3, the inner end portion of each of said passageways which terminates in the inner wall of the cylinder is in the form of a horizontally-disposed, segmental-shaped slot s that is located preferably at the extreme upper end of the cylinder in close proximity to the head of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 2. The outer end portion of said passageway, which terminates in one wall of the valve chamber, is in the form of a vertically-disposed, oblong-shaped slot w, as shown in Fig. 3, the horizontal portion a diminishing gradually in length, as shown in Fig. l, and merging into the vertically-disposed portion w. By forming the gas passageways in this manner it is possible to provide the cylinders with relatively large passageways, as the inner end of each passageway is in the form of horizontally-disposed slot, which can be made any length desired, and the outer end of said passageway is in the form machine the recesses or cored out openings in the cylinder block that constitute the valve chambers, owing to the fact that the valves are guided by and seated on the meinbers I and J. The vertical side faces of the cylinder block and the inner sides of the members I and J that bear against same can be finished easily by a simple planing operation, and in finishing the horizontally-disposed ribs or flanges on the members I and J it is only necessary to machine those p0rtions of said ribs that contact with the top and bottom edges of the valves. As previously stated, the inlet and exhaust passageways in the cylinder walls are relatively large, thus insuring the supply of a relatively great quantity of gas to the cylinders and free exhaust of the burnt gases from the cylinders. The spark plugs K are preferably mounted in the heads of the cylinders, as shown in Fig. 2, directly at the gas inlet passageways, thus causing the combustible gases that are admitted to the cylinders to pass directly over the points of the spark plugs.

By arranging the valves in separate gastight valve chambers, leach of which is connected with its cooperating cylinder by a relatively large gas passageway that is always open, and using the internal pressure in the cylinders to hold the valves tightly seated on iat valve seats, I reduce to a minimum the possibility of the gases leaking around the valves. In other words, each valve is held on its seat by pressure that is exerted on the entire inner face of the valve, the valve being so designed that the inner side of same is spaced away slightly from the inner vertical wall of the valve chamber in which the gas passageway is formed, i

thus presenting the entire inner side of the valve to the pressure that is created in the cylinder. Still another desirable feature of such a construction is that it is practically impossible for carbon to collect on the seats or flat faces on which the valves slide.

While I prefer to utilize the internal pressure in the cylinders to hold the valves against their seats, it might be desirable, in some instances, to interpose flat leaf springs between the inner sides of the valves and the vertical side faces of the cylinder block, so as to assist the internal pressure in the cylinders to hold the valves tightly seated. Furthermore, while I have herein illustrated one particular mechanism for operating the valves, I wish it to be understood that it is immaterial, so far as my present invention is concerned, how the valves are operated, so long as they are moved positively into and out of position to admit the combustible gases to the cylinders and permit the burnt gases to escape from the cylinders in proper sequence. I prefer to cast the cylinders en bloc and provide the cylinder block with two removable members that act as guideways for the valves and form seats for the valves, but thisA also is a feature that could be modified without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having, thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by vLetters Patent, is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder casting provided with a planed surface in which a recess is formed to produce a valve chamber that communicates with the cylinder, a removable valve seat member clamped tightly against the planed surface on the cylinder casting to form one wall of said valve chamber and provided with guideways that project into said chamber, and a reciprocating valve in said guideway that controls a port formed in the outer wall of said valve chamber, said valve seat member having a seat on which said valve slides.

2. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine, each of whose cylinders is provided with an inlet and an exhaust gas passageway formed in the side walls thereof on opposite sides of the engine, a separate valve chamber communicating with each of said gas passageways and cut olf from the other valve chambers of the engine, and reciprocating slide valves in said valve chambers that cooperate with ports in same to control the inlet and exhaust of the gases to and from the cylinders.

3. An internal combustion engine provided with a plurality of cylinders that have inlet and exhaust gas passageways formed in the side walls thereof at opposite sides of the engine, valve chambers that are always in open communication with their respective cylinders, and vertically-disposed slide valves of plate form that move longitudinally of the crankshaft of the engine and control the inlet and exhaust of the gases into and out of the cylinders.

4. An internal combustion engine provided with a plurality of cylinders that have inlet and exhaust gas passageways formed in the side walls thereof, separate valve chambers that communicate with the cylinders through said passageways, and reciprocating slide valves of plate form that move longitudinally of the engine and control the inlet and exhaust of the gases to and from the cylinders, said valves being arranged in two groups, each of which comprises exhaust valves for certain of the cylinders and inlet valves for the remaining cylinders.

5. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine provided with cylinders that have inlet and exhaust valve chambers arranged on opposite sides of the engine, and slide valves of plate form that reciprocate longitudinally of the engine and control the admission and exhaust of the gases to and from the cylinslide valves of plate form that reciprocate A longitudinally of the engine in said valve chambers and govern the admission and exhaust of the gases to and from the cylinders, said valves having openings that register with the ports in said valve chambers and being arranged in two groups, each of which collectively coperates with all of the cylinders to control the inlet ports of certain cylinders and the exhaust ports of the remaining cylinders.

7. An internal combustion engine provided with a plurality of cylinders, valve chambers communicating with said cylinders and having inlet ports and exhaust ports formed in the side walls thereof, vertically-disposed slide valves of plate form that reciprocate longitudinally of the crank shaft of the engine and which are provided with openings that register with ports in said valve chambers, and fiat valve seats against which sald valves are pressed tightly by the internal pressure in the cylinders, said valves being of less thickness than the width of said valve chambers so that the internal pressure in the cylinders will be exerted on the entire area of the inner sides of said valves.

8. An internal combustion engine provided with a plurality of cylinders, valve cha-mbers communicating with said cylinders and having inlet and exhaust ports formed in the side walls thereof, slide valves of plate form that reciprocate longitudinally of the crank shaft of the engine and which are provided with openings that register with said ports, the inner sides of said valves being spaced away from the adjacent side walls of their respective valve chambers, and members provided with horizontally-disposed guideways for said valves and having -flat valve seats against which the outer sides of said valves are pressed by the internal pressure in the cylinders.

9. An internal combustion engine provided with a cylinder block that' comprises a plurality of cylinders, valve chambers that communicate With said cylinders, slide valves of plate form that cooperate with ports in said valve chambers, a removable member that extends longitudinally of the cylinder block and forms a housing and guidevvay for all of the valves on one side of the engine, said member having a flat valve seat on which the valves slide and the cylinder block being provided with recesses into Which the guiding portions on said member project.

l0. An internal combustion ,engine provided ivith a plurality of cylinders, valve chambers that communicate with said cylinders, slide valves of plate form that reciprocate longitudinally of the engine and which are provided With openings that register with ports in said valve chambers, a member having a valve seat against Which said valves are pressed, the valve chamber ports being formed in said member, an 0perating mechanism for th-e valves, and latorally-projecting devices on the valves that pass through openings in said member and join the operating mechanism to the valves.

11. An internal combustion engine provided vvith a cylinder block that is equipped with a plurality of cylinders, said block being provided at one side with a planed surface, gas passageways formed in the side Walls of the cylinders, a valve seat member that bears against the planed surface on the cylinder block and Which cooperates vvith said block to form a plurality of separate and distinct valve chambers, and slide valves of plate form in said chambers that reciprocate longitudinally of the engine and control ports in said valve chambers.

1.2. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder block having a plurality of cylinders, each of which has a-gas passagevvay formed in the side Wall thereof, said block being provided at one side With a planed surface in Which recesses are formed in proximity to the cylinders to produce valve chambers, a removable valve seat member secured to the cylinder block and provided With horizontally-disposed guide flanges that project into the recesses in the cylinder block, and slide valves of plate form that are reciprocatingly mounted between the guide iianges on said member and which are held pressed against a seat on said member by the internal pressure in the cylinders.

1.3. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder block provided With a plurality of cylinders that have inlet and exhaust gas passageways formed in the side Walls thereof, removable valve seat members connected to the opposite sides of said cylinder block, one of said members having an inlet manifold and the other member having an exhaust manifold, horizontally-disposed guide iianges on said members that project into the recesses in the cylinder block, and reciprocating slide valves arranged between the guide flanges on said members and provided With openings that register With ports that lead to said manifolds, said valves being arranged in groups, each of which comprises exhaust valves and inlet valves.

14. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder block having a plurality of cylinders formed therein, exhaust and inlet gas passagevvays formed in the side Walls of said cylinders at opposite sides of the engine, the inner end of each of said passageways being in the form of a horizontally-disposed aroshaped slot, and the outer end of each o-f said passagevvays being in the form of an elongated slot that extends approximately longitudinally of the cylinder, removable valve seat members secured to the opposite sides of the cylinder block and extending longitudinally thereof, one of said members having an intake manifold and the other an exhaust manifold, slide valves of plate form arranged between said cylinder block and valve seat members and provided with openings that register With ports that lead to said manifolds, and an operating mechanism for the valves Which causes the inlet valves of certain cylinders and the exhaust valves of the remaining cylinders to move in unison.

l5. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder block provided with a plurality of cylinders that have inlet and exhaust passageways in the side Walls thereof, each of said passagevvays leading to a separate valve chamber, removable members on said block that form seats and guidevvays for slide valves in said valve chambers that reciprocate longitudinally of the crank shaft of the engine, a pair of reciprocating valves of plate form coperating With each cylinder, a valve-operating mechanism com prising operating members and rods that extend longitudinally of the engine, and means for connecting the valves to said rods.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of tivo Witnesses, this tenth day of July, 1915.

`WALTER F. KOKEN.

Witnesses:

A. B. GREENE, LEWIS E. MOORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

